Eric Ries also put together a short two minute video describing the issue and highlighting Eric Diep, the co-founder of Quizzes (a very popular early Facebook app). The Eric’s explain the issue around visas for founders of companies and talk briefly about some of their activity on a recent trip to Washington DC.

As each day passes, I continue to get a steady flood of positive feedback and constructive suggestions about this from a wide variety of people. Thanks to everyone for engaging in this important conversation.

Feel exactly the same way as Eric Diep, that the dream of creating wealth, jobs and innovation in America seems so close yet impossibly far away. There are so many international students, self-selected to come to the United States to study, invested in by educators, who want to build successful and sustainable companies, and yet cannot. It is just so up-side down.

Mohan

Is there any data on how many entrepreneurs would US VCs commit money to (over the last 1,3,5 years), but couldn't due to the visa problem? How much VC money was left uncommitted as a result (and how many jobs not created as result)?

http://intensedebate.com/people/bfeld Brad Feld

I haven't found a credible source for quantitative data. Qualitative / anecdotal data suggests that it's a meaningful number.

Mohan

Is is fair to say that In the absence of credible quantitative data, we might need to position this to the govt as "the US needs to make it easier to import IP and create jobs" ? And justify how universities and corporations are not effectively doing this today?

http://intensedebate.com/people/bfeld Brad Feld

No. There is likely appropriate proxies for this data. I imagine that as the policies start to get shaped, we’ll be able to put some substantial data behind it. In addition, the qualitative data is overwhelming so it’s not hard to paint a clear picture from it.

It’s not a case of universities and corporations not doing this effectively as it’s not a “zero sum game.” I believe we are nowhere near the boundaries of what we can handle in this country.